The invention relates to gas compressor maintenance and reliability and, more particularly, to a method for prevention/detection of mechanical overload in a reciprocating gas compressor.
An overload condition in a gas compressor can cause damage to compressor components that may affect operation and efficiency of the compressor. Repeated overload occurrences can compound damage to the compressor components, often beyond repair.
Currently, there is no ability beyond observing normal operation of the compressor to determine whether the compressor experienced an overload event. For example, excessive vibration during operation of the compressor provides evidence of a problem, which may have been caused by an overload condition after which the compressor can be shut down and inspected. At this point, however, equipment damage may be beyond repair.
It would thus be desirable to enable detection of an overload condition during routine maintenance and inspection of the compressor so that the problem or defect in the compressor components can be corrected before further damage is caused due to persistent overload events.